Lukewarm response to under-18s Covid-19 jabs

Minister of Health Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda says there has been a lukewarm response to Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine targeting children aged between 12 and 17.

The minister, who is also co-chairperson of Presidential Task Force on Covid-19, said there was a lot of hesitancy from parents, guardians and the community in general to get their children vaccinated.

In an interview on Wednesday, Chiponda said she was, however, satisfied with the turnout on Monday when the programme was rolled out.

She said: “Most parents still have questions about the vaccine, such as is it safe for our children? There are some other parents who understand this very well, but some other parents who are a bit hesitant. They are asking ‘if my child gets the vaccine’ what are the consequences?”

A Public Health Institute of Malawi Covid-19 daily report issued on January 5 2022 showed that 62 doses were administered, bringing the total to 228 doses administered to the under-18s since the start of the campaign.

To counter low uptake, Chiponda said the ministry will embark on a sensitisation campaign to educate the communities on the importance of vaccinating their children.

She said the campaign will target churches and traditional leaders and all learning institutions.

“District health offices are also working with schools to conduct the vaccine exercise in their respective schools to enable students get the vaccine after getting consents from their parents,” said Chiponda.

During random checks on Wednesday, The Nation established that some district councils such as Chiradzulu, Thyolo and Salima had not yet started administering the Pfizer vaccine.

Thyolo District Council director of health and social services Arnold Jumbe said in an interview that they failed to start administering Pfizer vaccine because storage facilities were not ready.

Chiradzulu District Council expanded programme on immunisation coordinator Thomas Luba said the district was yet to receive the vaccine and injection materials.

He said: “We will be able to receive the vaccines within the week.”

In Blantyre, the district health office (DHO) started administering Pfizer Covid-19 vaccines on Monday, but the turnout was low. At Ndirande Health Centre, only six doses were administered between Monday and Wednesday noon.

Gateway Clinic, a satellite of Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, had administered 96 doses between Monday and Wednesday.

In an interview, Blantyre District health promotional officer Chrissy Banda said the turnout was much lower than what her office had anticipated.

She said: “So far we have started on a very low note. Maybe because people are still monitoring the vaccines if they have some side effects.”

Mzimba North DHO spokesperson Lovemore Kawayi attributed the low turnout to lack of community mobilization.

He said most people are not aware that people aged between 12 and 17 can now access Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine.

“Yes, we have started at a slow note but I think things will pick up as time goes,” said Kawayi.

Malawi is administering the vaccines to under-18s as an extension to a campaign targeting people aged 18 and above.

Malawi targets to vaccinate 11 million or 60 percent of the population with the Covax Facility, a multi-donor consortium providing vaccines to poor countries, providing vaccines for 3.8 million people. However, the campaign has to date managed to cumulatively fully vaccinate 717 180 people by Wednesday this week.

During the first quarter of this year, Malawi is expecting to get 388 000 doses of Johnson & Johnson, 396 000 of AstraZeneca and 714 000 doses of Pfizer.